Seasonal Affective Disorder

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Seasonal affective disorder(SAD), additionally referred to as winter depression, winter blues, summer depression, season unhappiness, or seasonal depression, could be a mood disorder set during which people that have traditional mental state throughout most of the year expertise depressive symptoms within the winter or summer.

SAD become depressed in the winter, at least in part because of a phase delay in circadiac rhythms relative to the sleep/wake cycle. Seasonal mood symptoms suggests that genetic aberrations may underlie the various abnormalities, which cause SAD symptoms. Melatonin secretion occurs later in the night, Feel sad, grumpy, moody, or anxious, Lose interest in your usual activities, Eat more and crave carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta, Gain weight, Sleep more but still feel tired, Have trouble concentrating.

We describe 58 patients with SAD; most of them had a bipolar affective disorder, especially bipolar II, and their depressions were generally characterized by hypersomnia, overeating, and carbohydrate craving and seemed to respond to changes in climate and latitude. The positive correlation between latitude and prevalence of winter SAD applied predominantly to the age groups over 35.